Even Though I Learned How To Code, I Wish I Pursued This Instead

With the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, many of us were forced to stay home and forbidden from going out unless absolutely necessary. For me, this meant the end of my engineering career, as business dried up instantly due to the effects of the pandemic.

While there were good intentions behind the lockdowns, they created a void of time for many people, including myself.  For those of us who love being active and productive, we abhor these vacuums.

Instead of trying Netflix, I chose to learn coding after waiting in vain for about three weeks for the lockdown to end.  I had some prior programming experience from writing scripts to solve engineering problems, but I genuinely wanted to understand how coding worked once and for all.  I believed it would be a valuable skill upon my return to the industry, making me more competitive in the job market.

Coding evolved from a mere activity to a full-blown obsession for me. I recall spending days in my apartment, only venturing out to grab groceries or meet with my fiancée (now wife).  Given all the time I dedicated to learning to code, you'd think that, given all the time I dedicated to learning to code, the pandemic would have wrapped up sooner, but it dragged on and on and on.

I enjoyed it so much that I was ready to abandon traditional engineering and pursue software engineering. While I did not end up in software engineering, my critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities sharpened dramatically.

Still, there were some other skills that would have been more beneficial in the long term if I had invested more time in them.

What I Wish I Spent More Time On

Even though coding was a highly sought-after skill before the sudden tech bust of 2022, I really wish I had spent more time mastering photography.

During the pandemic, being indoors with others wasn't an option, so many people spent time outdoors. In hindsight, I should have taken more pictures and walked more, as it would have been a healthier use of my time.

As I plowed through one coding challenge after another, I noticed that my willingness to go outside had dwindled significantly.  My fiancée joked that I was becoming a shut-in as we planned to move to California after the wedding later that year.  However, I felt it was a better investment of my time to master this skill to increase my marketability when arriving in the new lands of sunny SoCal.

Maybe she had a good point.

Why I Wish I Spent More Time on Photography

Although coding remains a significantly more marketable skill than photography, there are several key reasons why I wish I had spent more time on photography, or at least balanced my day between the two:

Go Outdoors More

Learning to code required me to sit down and tackle problems methodically, step by step. While I enjoyed the process, it was quite time-consuming, and by the time I completed a major problem, the sun had usually set. This meant that engaging in photography with my entry-level camera equipment was not really feasible.

In hindsight, I would have spent my mornings taking photographs and going for hikes when the lighting was optimal. This would have kept me active and healthier by getting my steps in and allowed me to see more of the Pacific Northwest before my days were numbered.

Additionally, I would've gone less stir crazy being indoors all the time if I had balanced photography in the mornings against coding later in the day.

I Had The Equipment Ready

Even without the best equipment at my disposal, I still had enough to capture beautiful moments in nature. There's something wonderful about taking a camera with you and how it ignites conversations with other outdoor enthusiasts.

Mark Twain’s wisdom resonates here: It doesn't matter where you start. It's more important to start now and learn better tools than to wait for perfection.

If it's on the shelf, it collects dust. A camera should be used to capture beautiful moments!

Already Had Experience With Photography

While I wasn't a professional photographer then, I was quite seasoned and had mastered the basics. My fiancée and I loved taking photos together, so we already had a good amount of experience and were eager to improve further.

On the other hand, my coding knowledge was still relatively new. Despite my previous experience in engineering and numerical analysis, coding presented its own challenges because I was not familiar with all the languages, syntaxes, and technologies available for building software. This made it difficult to persuade potential employers that I could continue making progress.

Additionally, there were times when I was stuck on certain concepts for a few days. Tools such as ChatGPT weren't available to bail me out. Instead, I sought answers on Stack Overflow.

Back then, I didn't believe that one could thrive in the arts without a lucky break.  Now, I see many others doing what I wish I had the courage to attempt.  However, I'm glad that I pursued photography more consistently rather than giving it up entirely.

How Programming Improved My Photography

At first glance, it might seem counterintuitive that my photography skills had somehow improved after spending days and weeks indoors on coding projects.

These seemingly small projects taught me how software operates on a larger scale and how most operations can be entirely reversed. This piqued my curiosity about other software used in other pursuits, such as Sibelius for music notation, Logic Pro for music production, Microsoft Word for writing, and Excel for data analysis.

Though I wish I had spent more time outside at the end of the day, I'm glad I invested as much time as I did into coding.  Here's how it poured back into my photography to make it better today:

I Played Around With Lightroom/ Photoshop A Lot More

While this may seem disheartening, I no longer assumed that software was somehow magical.  Instead, I understood there was a logical flow of tasks performed under the hood when editing photos.  Because of that, I became more curious about all the knobs and menu items in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom than ever before.

I suddenly questioned my usual routines by experimenting with different filters, lighting, color schemes, textures, and effects. It became easier to identify the steps and processes needed to create the desired final product. Even with some training on the software, certain operations remained unclear until I envisioned how computers were transforming data structures.

Consequently, my photos appeared more professional, despite using entry-level equipment.  It was gratifying to realize that my limited results were due to my efforts rather than the equipment itself.  Furthermore, I sensed that I had significantly more creative opportunities with photography and graphic design than I had ever experienced before.

I Realized The Immediate Applications of Object-Oriented Programming

Have you ever looked at a piece of software and realized that it's just a master application? This application is divided into objects, enabling you to tinker and build something new. When I understood this, it helped me think about editing my photos more concretely.

All I had to do was highlight which objects needed adjustment and go through each one step by step.  The magic was no longer in the potential possibilities of hoping for the right result.  Instead, the magic lay in the consistent results produced because I knew how to reach my end goal.

I Became More Explicitly Strategic In My Photoshoots & Edits

Code requires logical thinking to direct the computer to execute instructions to complete a task. Because code is the language of computational instruction, it became more natural for me to think strategically when using software.

I realized the value of developing systematic methods for editing photos to ensure even brightness, color correction, and detail enhancement. Suddenly, the seven years of random photography had finally clicked, and I could confidently produce consistent results.

Now, as long as my camera functions properly, I feel very confident editing everything captured. I expect little hiccups here and there, but these are more of an exception than the rule. More importantly, I enjoy sharing my photos with clients on my personal website and on social media.

It All Worked Out, Anyways

Learning to code was a great experience that benefited all my pursuits. Nowadays, I use code to build my own micro-AI, but as I continue my journey as a photographer, I feel more confident that I'll be able to quickly master new software implementations in Lightroom and Photoshop.

It's easy for me to criticize myself for not balancing coding and photography, but nobody knew how long the COVID-19 pandemic would last.  We all thought it would be over by Easter, but it lasted much longer.  That's why it's more important for me to be flexible and adapt to changing circumstances.

Reflecting on my experiences, I realize that coding was the missing piece of the puzzle to balancing creative and logical thinking. Coding has opened many doors for me, enabling me to work faster, at a higher caliber, and with more enjoyment. 

Hindsight is 20/20 (literally, in this case), but I'm glad I invested upfront in learning the craft of coding. I continue to reap the benefits of deep, balanced, creative, and logical thinking.